Fit For Work

11/04/2026

Is your organization's workplace safety program inspection ready?

As the year comes to a close, now is a great time to step back, evaluate your programs, and identify opportunities for improvement for the year ahead.

To help, we've developed two free resources:
✅ OSHA Compliance Scorecard
✅ Inspection Readiness Checklist

Use these tools to assess your current safety efforts and identify areas that may need attention before an inspection.

>> Download both resources: https://okt.to/bPjQXl

10/29/2026

Why doesn't ergonomics training always change behavior?

As we've explored throughout the month, workplace behavior is rarely influenced by a single factor. Training is important, but training alone doesn't always lead to lasting change.

According to Fit For Work Ergonomics Specialist, Jacob Wilkins, one of the biggest reasons is a lack of support, follow-up, and follow-through after training. Employees take cues from leadership. If they don't feel a program is important to site leadership, they're less likely to view it as important themselves.

✅ What Employers Can Do: Encourage leaders and trainers to follow up after training. Reinforce positive ergonomic behaviors, recognize employees who are applying what they learned, and constructively coach at-risk habits. Consistent reinforcement helps turn training concepts into everyday work practices.

Thank you for following along this National Ergonomics Month. We hope these insights from our ergonomics team have sparked new ideas and conversations around workplace behavior, injury prevention, and creating environments where employees can perform at their best.

10/27/2026

What makes employees buy into an ergonomics program?

According to Fit For Work Staff Ergonomist, Ashley Mayo, employee buy-in starts with trust. Employees are quick to recognize the difference between an ergonomics program focused on people and one focused solely on productivity. When employees feel their health matters, they're far more likely to engage in the process.

Leadership visibility matters too. Spending time on the floor and understanding what a job physically demands helps build credibility and trust in the decisions being made.

✅ What Employers Can Do: Treat employees as experts on their own jobs. If their input isn't built into the process from the beginning, organizations can unintentionally undermine buy-in before the program even gets started.

10/23/2026

Why do some ergonomic solutions succeed while others fail?

According to Emily Lipiec, Fit For Work Injury Prevention Specialist, success often comes down to trust, collaboration, and support throughout the organization.

Employees have firsthand experience with their jobs and can provide valuable insight into what may or may not work in practice. When organizations seek employee input and involve them in the process, it creates a more collaborative approach to problem-solving and can lead to more effective and sustainable improvements.

✅ What Employers Can Do: Involve employees from the beginning and ensure leadership actively supports the proposed changes. When employees and leaders are working toward the same goal, ergonomic improvements are more likely to be adopted and sustained.

10/20/2026

Is unsafe behavior usually caused by carelessness?

According to Fit For Work Area Manager, Kevin Montgomery, not necessarily. Kevin recalls observing two employees performing the same task in the same unsafe manner. At first glance, the behavior looked identical. However, the reasons behind it were very different.

One employee was working around faulty equipment. The other had simply been trained to do the task that way. The behavior was the same. The causes were not.

✅ What Employers Can Do: Before assuming someone wasn't following the rules, ask questions such as, "Tell me about your job and why you do it that way?" or "If you could change one thing about the job, what would it be?" These conversations often reveal issues that might otherwise go unnoticed.

10/16/2026

Why do employees wait to report discomfort?

Jason Heinold, Fit For Work Injury Prevention Specialist, thinks delayed reporting is often less about ignoring symptoms and more about how discomfort develops over time.

Many employees don't report discomfort right away because it doesn't seem like a big deal at first. By the time symptoms persist or start getting worse, they may worry they waited too long to say something, don't want to appear weak, or fear the impact reporting could have on their job or income.

✅ What Employers Can Do: Pay attention to unexpected changes in productivity, work habits, or attendance. These can be early signs that an employee may be experiencing discomfort or fatigue but hasn't spoken up yet.

10/15/2026

We're excited to share that Fit For Work Staff Ergonomist, Ashley Mayo, will be presenting at the ASPIRE HFES 70th International Annual Meeting.

Her poster presentation, Beyond the Artificial Intelligence Risk Score: A Clinical Reasoning Framework for Inclusive Industrial Design, highlights the role of clinical reasoning in supporting more inclusive design decisions.

If you're attending ASPIRE, be sure to stop by her poster session on Thursday, October 22 from 5:30 – 6:30 p.m. PDT.

Learn more: https://okt.to/50TwZ3

10/13/2026

Why do employees take shortcuts that increase ergonomic risk?

We often assume shortcuts are the result of carelessness or poor decision-making. In reality, the reasons are usually more complex.

According to Stephanie Carroll, Fit For Work Ergonomics & Injury Prevention Specialist, shortcuts are commonly driven by production pressures, training gaps, physical limitations, or processes that make the shortcut seem easier than the recommended approach.

Employees may work around difficult tools, avoid equipment that slows them down, or develop habits based on what they've seen others do. In many cases, the shortcut makes sense from the employee's perspective, even if it increases ergonomic risk.

✅ What Employers Can Do: Observe how work is actually being performed. If you observe a shortcut, ask employees why they're not using the recommended method. Understanding the reason behind a shortcut is often the first step toward preventing it.

10/09/2026

In our Human Side of Ergonomics series, we're exploring a common question: What's the biggest misconception about ergonomics?

According to Rupert Edwards, Fit For Work Ergonomics Specialist, one of the biggest misconceptions is that ergonomics is simply about comfort or a workplace luxury.

At its core, ergonomics is about designing work to fit people rather than forcing people to adapt to poorly designed work. When people can perform their jobs safely, effectively, and consistently, organizations are better positioned to improve productivity, quality, and overall performance.

✅ What Employers Can Do: The greatest value of ergonomics comes from prevention. Regularly evaluating jobs and tasks can help identify risks before they impact safety, productivity, or costs.

10/07/2026

A shortcut is often treated as a behavior problem. In reality, it may be one of the clearest signals that the work process and real-world conditions are not aligned.

As part of National Ergonomics Month, Fit For Work Director of Ergonomics, Lauren Brizendine, explores why employees take shortcuts and what organizations can do to make safe work the easy choice.

Read the blog: https://okt.to/9J4oIj

Employees don't take shortcuts because they don't care. Learn how ergonomics helps remove barriers and make safe work the easiest choice.